As one of the founding partners of Kasturi Capital Holding Sdn. Bhd. and Chief Executive Office, Desmond Khoo Kok Hwa will spearhead Kasturi’s development of a next-gen franchise ecosystem that will raise the bar in food, beverage and hospitality standards and establish Kasturi as one of Asia’s Top 50 Food, Beverage and Hospitality leaders in Retail Chains and Design and Build Concepts in the future.
With a good track record and more than 20 years of experience in sales and marketing, Khoo started his sales career with Faber-Castell and Ciba-Vision before finding his niche in the dental industry with 3M in 1997. He moved to Altis-Pro Marketing Sdn. Bhd. in 2002 as Business Operations Manager.
Khoo got a break into the food-and-beverage industry with an assignment in China with Fonterra Commercial Trading Ltd (Shanghai) in 2004. During his tenure, he achieved a 25-percent growth in the China market for 2004 and 2005, and won new customers including Starbucks, Holiland and Woduomei. Khoo was also selected as the Health and Safety Chairman to lead and execute internal environment health and safety SOP.
He returned to Malaysia in 2007 as the Regional Sales Manager for Southeast Asian, South and East China for Nobel Biocare. In 2009, Khoo was transferred to China as the Regional Manager. In 2012 he moved to Manitowoc International Shanghai Ltd. as the Sales Director for North Asia, managing distributor sales in four countries that included accounts like McDonald’s and YUM group.
In 2014 Khoo moved to Middleby China Corporation as the Vice President of Sales. This position saw him manage key accounts that included Burger King, Starbucks, Domino, Papajohn and DQ. He also developed a distributor ecosystem for the northern and southern regions of China.
After more than 15 years overseas, Khoo, together with a few partners, started Kasturi Capital Holding Sdn. Bhd.
Khoo is an avid golfer and spends his free time on the greens. He also likes to backpack, and enjoys good food and drinks.
Desmond Loh, a Malaysian, had his early education at SRJK (C) Chung Hua and St. Paul’s Institution, Seremban. He completed his tertiary education by obtaining professional qualifications from the Institute of Financial Accountants (IFA), UK. He later pursued postgraduate studies and obtained his Master of Business Administration (MBA).
He started his career with financial institutions, where he has undertaken a wide range of portfolio which include financial analysis, credit assessment, credit operation, recovery of non-performing accounts and legal receivables. He subsequently had stints with a few Multi-National Companies (MNC), serving as Department Head overseeing credit and risk management, collection & recovery, litigation, finance, admin, compliance and audit. During his engagements with MNCs, Desmond has gained invaluable exposure as he worked with and traveled extensively throughout the Asia Pacific countries. Among the notable conglomerates that he has served include Bank of America (a global banking group), MBF Group (one of the largest financial services groups at that time), Texchem Consumers (a leading FMCG distributor which was subsequently merged into DKSH), TNT Express (one of the BIG 4 in express delivery services globally) and Chain Group (one of the most established and largest Call Center in Malaysia).
Having accumulated more than 30 years of corporate exposure in financial services sector and consumer-related industry, Desmond has a wealth of knowledge and expertise in business process outsourcing (BPO), call center operation, compliance & audit, risk management, litigation, corporate communication and financial management.
Desmond is presently serving as Director/Consultant, providing advisory, consultancy and strategic planning in areas related to financial services, compliance, corporate communication & business development. In addition, he is also a Board Member of Koperasi PREMIER Berhad.
Besides career and corporate commitments, Desmond is active in various professional bodies. He holds membership in Asian Institute of Chartered Bankers, Malaysia Finance Association, Malaysian Institute of Management, Malaysian Institute of Human Resource Management, Association of Credit Management Malaysia and is also a Life Member of British Graduates Association of Malaysia.
As one of the founders, director and the Deputy General Manager of Kasturi Capital Holding Sdn. Bhd. Ramani will be spearheading the group’s frontline operations including the management of Kasturi’s outlets, food and services.
Ramani started as ARMT (Assistand Restaurant manager Trainee) with KFC Holdings in 1990 and has been in the food-and-beverage industry ever since. After his initial posting, and 32 years on, Ramani has worked in many food-and-beverage chains that include Shakey’s Pizza, Manhattan Fish Market, Chilli’s, Starbucks, Chase Coffee, PappaRich, Pastry Ville and currently NYPD.
Positions he has held include Restaurant Manager, Area manager, District Manager, Training Manager, Audit Manager and Head of Department for Delivery. After his long stint in food-and-beverage chains, Ramani continued to serve the industry in the capacity of Consultant and General Manager, working with fast food, fast casual dining, fine dining, casual dining, self-service, quick service, kiosk and food truck sectors.
After a meandering experience with food, beverage and people, results-oriented Ramani believes he has the right communications and management skills to help steer Kasturi towards its business goals and objectives.
Hailing from Seremban in the state of Negri Sembilan, Ramani received his early education in St. Paul Primary School, before continuing with St. Paul Institution during his secondary years.
Ramani lists running as his favourite sport, when he is not travelling and meeting people from all walks of life. A diploma holder in Effective Middle Management, he is also an active member of St. John Ambulance Association. His slogan is simple – ‘I do what it takes, I give what I gain.’
Kasturi Capital Holding Sdn. Bhd. co-founder and director Amy Yee comes with more than 30 years of experience in insurance consultation and financial planning.
Her career in insurance and financial planning started when she joined AIA in 2000. Eight years later, she made Unit Manager and in 2011, became an Agency Manager.
During that time, Yee set up a joint-venture financial planning company that provided consultation and solutions for insurance, estate planning (will and trust), corporate solutions, HR training and personal financial advisory.